The FAYZ (book 1)

THREE

298 hours 05 minutes

"That truck", Sam said, pointing."Another crash". A FedEx truck had ploughed through a hedge and slammed an elm tree in somebody's front yard. The engine was idling.

They ran into two kids,a fourth-grader and his little sister,playing a half-hearted game of catch on their front lawn."Our mom's not home", the older one said."I'm supposed to go to my piano lesson this afternoon. But I don't know how to go there".

"And I have tap dance. We're getting our costumes for the recital", the younger one said."I'm going to be a ladybug."You know how to get to the plaza? You know in town?" Sam said.

"I guess so",
"You should go there"
"I'm not supposed to leave the house", the little one said."Our grandmother lives in Laguna Beach",the fourth-grader said. "She could come get us. But we can't get her on the phone. The phone doesn't work."I know. Maybe go wait down at the plaza,right?
"When the kid just stared at him,Sam said,"Hey don't get too upset,OK? you have any cookies or ice-cream in the house?

"I guess so"

"Well, there's no one telling you not to eat a cookie,is there? Your folks will show up soon, I think. But in the meantime have a cookie,then come down to the plaza".

"That's your solution? Have a cookie?" Jayden snapped, Astrid rolled her eyes.

"No my solution is to run down to the beach and hide out until this is all over", Sam said. "But a cookie never hurts".
They kept moving, Sam, Quinn, Jayden and Astrid.

Sam's home was east of downtown. He and his mom shared a small squashed-looking one storey house with a tiny, fenced backyard and no real front yard, just a sidewalk.

Sam's mother didn't make much money working as a night nurse up at Coates academy. Sam's dad was out of the picture, always had been.
He was a mystery in Sam's life. And last year his step-father had left,too.

"This is it," Sam said. "We don't believe in showing off with big house and all".
"Well, you live near Town beach", Astrid said,pointing to the only advantage of this house or this neighbourhood.

"Yeah. Two- minute walk. Less if you cut through the yard of the house where the biker gang lives".

"Biker gang?" Astrid asked
"Not the whole gang, really, just killer and his girlfriend accomplice". Astrid frowned while Jayden snickered under her breath as she shook her head lightly, and Sam continued, " sorry. Bad joke. It's not a great neighbourhood."

Now that he was here, Sam didn't want to go in. His mother would not be there.

And that was something in his house maybe Quinn,and especially Jayden, shouldn't see.

He led the way up the three sun-faded, grey painted wooden steps that creaked when you stepped on them.
The porch was narrow,and a couple of months ago someone had stolen the rocking chair his mom had put out there so she could sit and rock in the evening before she went to work. Now they just had to drag out kitchen chairs.

That was always the best time of day for them, the beginning of his mother's workday, the end of Sam's. Sam would be home from school, and his mom would be awake, having slept most of the day.

She would have a cup of tea, and Sam would have a soda or maybe a juice. She would ask him how school had gone that day, and he wouldn't really tell her very much, but it was nice to think about he could tell her if he wanted to.